UN backs resolution on Africa’s map size

The United Nations General Assembly approved an African-led resolution on 4 September 2026 to promote maps that show continents in more accurate relative sizes. The resolution supports the use of the Equal Earth projection and moves away from the 16th-century Mercator projection in educational and public mapping contexts.

Mercator Projection

The Mercator projection was developed in 1569 by Gerardus Mercator, a Flemish cartographer. It preserves direction and local shape, which made it useful for marine navigation, but it enlarges landmasses near the poles and distorts relative area.

Equal Earth Projection

The Equal Earth projection is an equal-area map projection introduced in 2018. It keeps the proportional area of continents and countries closer to their actual size, which makes it suitable for thematic maps and school atlases.

UN Vote and Diplomatic Context

The resolution, led by Togo and backed by the African Union, was adopted by 164 votes in favour, with 6 abstentions and 1 vote against. The United States cast the only opposing vote, while the Togolese side described the issue in terms of “cognitive justice”.

Important Facts for Exams

• The Mercator projection was created in 1569 and remains widely used in navigation charts.
• Equal-area projections preserve land area, while conformal projections preserve local angles and shapes.
• Greenland appears much larger on Mercator maps than its actual area relative to Africa.
• The United Nations General Assembly is the main deliberative organ of the UN and has 193 member states.

Implementation and Education

Togo has stated that it plans to update school curricula and geography textbooks by the end of 2026. A major implementation event is planned in Lomé in early 2027 with UNESCO, the African Union and Google Maps.

Map Projections in Geography

Map projections are methods used to represent the curved surface of the Earth on a flat map. Common projection types include cylindrical, conic and azimuthal projections, and each type involves some distortion of area, shape, distance or direction.